Modi, Abe to lay high-speed rail line's foundation this week

New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will take part in the ground-breaking ceremony of the much-anticipated Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project on Thursday, a senior official said here on Monday.

“On September 14, the two Prime Ministers in the morning will attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail which is a flagship project of India-Japan collaboration,” Pranay Verma, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said in a media briefing ahead of the 12th annual India-Japan bilateral summit to be held in Gandhinagar.

He said that a high-speed railway training centre will also be set up in Vadodara.

The high-speed rail project was announced during Abe’s visit to India in 2015 for the 10th annual bilateral summit.

Verma said that the fact that Gujarat’s capital would be hosting the bilateral meet highlighted the importance India’s states were playing in the country’s foreign policy.

Abe, his wife and the accompanying delegation will reach Gujarat on Wednesday evening.

India and Japan will hold bilateral discussions on Thursday following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed.

An India-Japan business plenary will also be held on Thursday that will mark the culmination of a series of business events that will be held earlier in the day.

Verma said that Abe’s visit reflected India’s “redeeming partnership” with Japan and that country’s increasing engagement with India’s infrastructure and flagship development projects.